Easy Shrimp Scampi Recipe
You can Pick It Up

Shrimp Scampi often doesn’t work well at parties because of the need for a knife and fork. No more.

Here’s our method to prep and serve the classic - all the taste, and the convenience of serving it at a stand up buffet.

The prep will take some time, but it can all be done the day before!

This is a perfect stand-up appetizer, especially when you need a more filling menu. Or, you can knife and fork it, serving more pasta as a base. Either way, this is unusual and delicious - designed to make ahead.

Portions/Servings

This recipe will feed 12 people, and will easily double or more. Read about Party Food Quantities and how to plan for the right amounts.

Easy Shrimp Scampi Appetizer Shopping List
for 12 People:(figure 2 shrimp per person)

___1 pound U30 raw or cooked Shrimp (very large, 30 to a pound).

___4 - garlic cloves, chopped

___2 large jars of your favorite Tomato Sauce

___2 tablespoons basil

___1 pound fettuccine, dry pasta, wide

___3-4 fresh lemons for garnish

___fresh parsley for garnish

Procedure:

The Day Before the Party:

Start with the shrimp. If you’re cooking them, return them to the fridge to completely cool. If you’ve bought precooked, then only have a few out of the fridge at a time.

Leave the tails on, but peel off the rest - just like Shrimp Cocktail.

You’re going to need a narrow blade, serrated tomato slicing knife, or similar. We’ve used these fruit/tomato knives everyday for years. Truly one of our favorites. See more on our Cooking Tools section. We sell one for under $2.

Cook the pasta a dente, and run in under cold water to completely cool.

Build the by adding the fresh garlic and basil to your tomato sauce. Let it marinate in the fridge.

So here’s the idea: You’re going to be wrapping one piece of the cooked pasta around each shrimp. The pasta will stay secured to the shrimp because of two cuts you’ve made into the cooked shrimp. Then, you’ll cover the wrapped shrimp in tomato sauce overnight in the fridge. It will take a couple for you to get the hang of it, but you will!

Start by making a cut at the head of the shrimp, not more than 1/2 inch into the meat.

Then, make a second cut (more like an incision) through the shrimp, just above the the remaining shell.

This cut should not be more then 1/2 inch long.

So each shrimp will have 2 cuts, one for each end of the pasta.

Insert the pasta through each shrimp by keeping the blade of the knife in the incision you made. Lay the pasta on the blade, and carefully push it though the cut.

Careful - you’re handling the blade. This is the hard part - it will get easier after you get the hang of it.

When the pasta is threaded through the cut shrimp, allow 1/2 inch to poke through, and wrap the rest around the shrimp, up to the other cut you made before.

Finish the wrap by tucking the end of the pasta into the head cut on the shrimp. It should stick out about 1/2 inch.

Lay them out in a shallow pan and cover with your tomato sauce, Then into the fridge overnight.

Presentation: Your Eyes Eat First

Want to serve this cold? No problem - plate it up with lemon right from the fridge. We wipe off the tails with a cloth - makes for easier handling at a stand up gig.

Serving hot? Take your pan from the fridge and into the oven for 15 minutes or so - just enough to heat them up. Or, put into a chafing dish with more pasta underneath.

Garnish with fresh lemon and parsley.

Leftovers:

Careful about what’s been left out too long - but these can be refrigerated and served the next day. It won’t freeze well.

How about some Desserts?

Check out some Appetizers!

Ready for some Dinner and Entrée ideas?